THE CANADIAN PRESS
With so much parity thus far in 2015, it seems like every matchup is a marquee one. No one team or player has stolen the spotlight to this point because the football has been the biggest selling point. Games are close, exciting and unpredictable which is good across the board. The fact that it makes it hard for certain CFL.ca writers to identify the top three storylines each week is rather immaterial at this point, I think.
3. Take two
Brett Smith struggled immensely in his professional starting debut last weekend. As the Saskatchewan Roughriders look for their first win of the season, I also hope they give Smith a fair shake in his second start. We all know Smith was thrown into an unenviable spot and was forced to make his first start against the defensive juggernaut that is the Edmonton Eskimos. Well, his opportunity for redemption comes Saturday night against the Toronto Argonauts.
As we mentioned in this week’s Monday Morning Quarterback, there’s more at stake for the Riders here than just Week 7. Yes, they need a win and that is the most important thing. But the Riders need to start evaluating their quarterback position in the longer term, too. I don’t know whether Smith plays into that or not, but neither does anyone else, including the team. The only way we find that out is getting him into more games, so his leash can’t be too short this weekend.
2. Home cooking
It’s been a very fruitful relationship so far between Tim Hortons and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Since moving into their fancy new home part way through last season, all Hamilton has done is rack up home wins. That continued last weekend as the Ticats hammered the Toronto Argonauts 34-18 in their home opener. Now we’ll watch and find out whether the Ticats can take advantage of a good old-fashioned home stand, as they’re in the midst of three straight games at home.
Hamilton deserves some time at home, let’s not forget, as the Ticats played their four games of this season on the road. On Sunday, the Tiger-Cats welcome Winnipeg as they look to build off their impressive Week 6 performance. Kent Austin’s bunch showed us why many have them picked to return to the Grey Cup game for a third straight year. If they keep playing the way they have at home, it’s tough to argue that prediction.
1. Damage control
Enough is enough if you’re the BC Lions. After a heartbreaking Week 5 loss to the Argos, the Lions looked like they were in quicksand for much of last weekend’s 23-13 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Things don’t get much easier for BC in Week 7 as the red hot Edmonton Eskimos pay a visit to BC Place on Thursday night. Despite the difficulty of the matchup, the Lions really need to make sure they don’t lose a third straight game.
The West Division is tough enough as it is, but falling two games out of a playoff spot digs you a pretty decent sized hole right now. Well, a BC loss and a Winnipeg win this weekend does exactly that for the Lions. It looks rather unlikely that we’ll see a crossover this year, so that top three in the West becomes pretty darn important. Falling too far behind can be very costly. Oh, and let’s not forget, BC is only a couple games clear of the Riders, despite their 0-6 record. The Lions need a win this weekend. The problem is, against the Eskimos, getting one is going to be extremely difficult.
